Fundamental Constructs, Pragmatemes and Constructionalization: a Case Study of the <imperative + voir>

Abstract

In French, there is a set of verbal phrases based on an imperative + voir. The imperative verb is most often conjugated in the second person – dis voir, tiens voir – or the first-person plural – voyons voir, regardons voir. These expressions may present a discourse value outside of the sentence. The aim of this article is first to compare two theoretical approaches – the Mel’čukian phraseology, on the one hand, and Pragmaticalisation and Constructionalisation theories, on the other – which deal with similar linguistic units, called, depending on the approach, fundamental constructions, pragmatemes or just constructions. Secondly, in the light of these theories, the article analyses the expressions dis voir, montre voir, écoute voir, voyons voir, etc. from a semantic and diachronic point of view in order to demonstrate that they are all derived from the construction <impératif + voir>, which has a central meaning identifiable in all the forms.